8.1 Pregnancy
PLLR conversion, as below:
Exposure Registry
There is
a pregnancy exposure registry that
monitors pregnancy outcomes in
women exposed to RETROVIR during pregnancy.
Healthcare providers
are encouraged
to register patients by
calling the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry (APR) at
1-800-258-4263.
Risk
Summary
Available data from
the APR show no difference in
the overall risk of birth defects
for
zidovudine compared with the background rate for birth defects
of 2.7% in the Metropolitan
Atlanta Congenital Defects
Program
(MACDP) reference population
[see Data]. The APR uses the
MACDP as the U.S.
reference population for birth defects
in the general
population. The MACDP evaluates
women and infants from a
limited geographic area and
does
not include outcomes
for
births that occurred
at less than 20 weeks gestation.
The rate of miscarriage is not reported
in the APR. The estimated background rate of miscarriage in clinically recognized
pregnancies in the
U.S. general population is 15% to 20%. The background risk
for
major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown.
In an animal reproduction
study,
administration of oral zidovudine to female rats
prior to mating and
throughout gestation
resulted in embryotoxicity at doses
that
produced systemic exposure
(AUC) approximately 33 times higher than exposure at
the recommended clinical dose.
However, no embryotoxicity was observed
after oral administration of
zidovudine to pregnant rats
during organogenesis at
doses that produced systemic exposure (AUC) approximately
times higher than exposures
at the recommended clinical
dose. Administration of
oral zidovudine to pregnant rabbits
during organogenesis
resulted in
embryotoxicity at
doses that produced systemic exposure (AUC) approximately 108 times
higher than exposure at the recommended
clinical dose. However, no
embryotoxicity was observed
at doses that produced
systemic exposure (AUC) approximately 23 times
higher than
exposures at
the recommended clinical dose.
Data
Human Data: Based on prospective reports
to the APR of over 13,000 exposures
to zidovudine during pregnancy resulting in
live births (including over 4,000 exposed
in the first trimester),
there was no difference between the
overall risk of birth
defects for zidovudine (2.9%) compared with the background birth defect rate of 2.7% in
a U.S.
reference population
of the MACDP. The prevalence of birth defects
in live births was 3.2% (95% CI:
2.7%
to 3.8%) following first trimester exposure to
zidovudine-containing regimens.
A
randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled
trial
was conducted in HIV-1-infected pregnant
women to determine the utility of RETROVIR for the prevention of
maternal-fetal
HIV-1-transmission. Zidovudine treatment
during pregnancy reduced the rate of maternal-fetal
HIV-1 transmission from 24.9% for infants
born to placebo- treated mothers
to 7.8% for infants born to mothers treated
with zidovudine. There were no
differences in pregnancy-related
adverse events
between
the treatment groups.
Of the 363 neonates
that were evaluated,
congenital abnormalities occurred with similar frequency between neonates
born to mothers who received
RETROVIR and
neonates born to mothers who received placebo.
The observed abnormalities included problems
in embryogenesis (prior to 14 weeks) or
were recognized
on ultrasound before or immediately after initiation
of study drug.
Zidovudine has been
shown to cross the placenta and concentrations in neonatal plasma at birth
were essentially equal
to those in maternal
plasma at delivery.
Animal Data: A study in pregnant rats (at
50, 150, or 450 mg per kg per day starting 26
days
prior to mating through gestation to postnatal Day 21) showed
increased fetal
resorptions at doses that
produced systemic exposures (AUC) approximately 33 times
higher than
exposure at
the recommended daily human
dose (300 mg twice daily).
However, in an oral
embryo-fetal development study in rats
(at 125, 250, or 500 mg
per
kg per day on gestation Days 6 through
15), no fetal resorptions were observed at
doses that produced
systemic exposure (AUC) approximately 117
times higher than exposures
at
the recommended daily human
dose. An oral embryo-fetal
development study in rabbits
(at 75, 150, or 500 mg per kg per day on gestation
Day
6 through 18) showed increased
fetal resorptions
at the 500-mg-per-kg-per-day dose, which
produced systemic exposures (AUC) approximately 108
times higher than exposure at
the recommended daily human
dose; however, no fetal
resorptions were noted at doses
up to 150 mg per kg per day,
which produced systemic exposure (AUC) approximately 23
times higher than
exposures at
the recommended daily human dose. These oral embryo-fetal development
studies in the rat and
rabbit
revealed
no evidence of fetal malformations
with zidovudine. In
another developmental toxicity study,
pregnant
rats
(dosed at 3,000 mg per kg per day from Days 6 through 15 of gestation) showed
marked maternal toxicity and an
increased incidence of fetal malformations at
exposures greater than
300 times the recommended daily human dose
based on AUC. However, there were no signs
of
fetal malformations
at doses up to 600 mg per kg per day.
PLLR conversion, as below:
Risk
Summary
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that HIV-1-infected
mothers in the United States not breastfeed their infants to avoid risking
postnatal transmission of HIV-1 infection. Zidovudine is present in human milk.
There is no information on the effects of zidovudine on the breastfed infant or
the effects of the drug on milk production. Because of the potential for (1)
HIV-1 transmission (in HIV-negative infants), (2) developing viral resistance
(in HIV-positive infants), and (3) serious adverse reactions in a breastfed infant
instruct mothers not to breastfeed if they are receiving RETROVIR.
Additions and/or revisions
underlined:
Lactic
Acidosis/Hepatomegaly with Steatosis
Advise patients that lactic acidosis and severe
hepatomegaly with steatosis have been reported with use of nucleoside
analogues and other antiretrovirals. Advise patients to stop taking RETROVIR if
they develop clinical symptoms suggestive of lactic acidosis or pronounced
hepatotoxicity.
Immune
Reconstitution Syndrome
Advise
patients to inform their healthcare provider immediately of any signs and
symptoms of infection as inflammation from previous infection may
occur soon after combination antiretroviral therapy, including when RETROVIR is
started.
Drug
Interactions
Advise patients that other medications may interact with
RETROVIR and certain medications, including ganciclovir, interferon alfa,
and ribavirin, may exacerbate the toxicity of RETROVIR.
Pregnancy
Inform
pregnant women considering the use of RETROVIR during pregnancy for prevention
of HIV-1 transmission to their infants that transmission may still occur in
some cases despite therapy.
Pregnancy
Registry
Advise
patients that there is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy
outcomes in women exposed to RETROVIR during pregnancy.
Lactation
Instruct
women with HIV-1 infection not to
breastfeed because HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in the breast milk.
Missed
Dose
Instruct
patients that if they miss a dose of RETROVIR, to take it as soon as
they remember. Advise patients not to double their next dose or take
more than the prescribed dose.